Taylor Swift Imagines - Book Four (... - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Taylor sniffled as she left the bathroom and slowly walked back to bed. She clutched her aching stomach and a small whimper escaped her lips as she laid down.
She had the thermometer in her hands and put it under her tongue as she closed her tired eyes.
She felt Benjamin curl up to her and she tried to run her fingers through his soft fur to distract herself as she waited for the thermometer to beep.
It's only a little after ten am. She's been awake for the last little while but she hadn't moved a muscle for a while because she felt terribly sick.
But when her stomach began to turn, she knew she had no choice but to get out of bed, and she ended up rushing into the bathroom as quickly as she could before she threw up.
Now she lays in bed, feeling so sick she can barely move.
Even reaching for the thermometer as it beeped made her muscles ache.
She groaned when she saw that her temperature was a touch over one hundred. It wasn't anything high, at least not yet.
But she was beginning to feel hot and sticky from the fever.
She kicked off the blanket that was over her feet and took off her pajama bottoms, hoping she'd cool down.
She closed her eyes in hopes that she could drift off to sleep but the sound of her phone ringing made her eyes open once again.
She whined as she reached for it beside her and put it on speaker as she answered it because she was too shaky to keep it against her ear.
"Hello?"
"Tay? Hey, babe. How are you today?"
At the sound of your voice, she cleared her throat and tried to perk up and pretend as if she wasn't feeling so terrible, so she wouldn't worry you.
"Hi, my love! I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm fine. Baby, are you sure you're feeling good? You don't sound like it."
"Yeah, I'm alright. I just woke up, that's all."
You must've believed it because you dropped the topic and moved on to a different one.
"So, are we still on for our date tonight at your place?"
Her eyes went wide upon remembering that you had a date night planned at her place tonight. She brushed her hand across her face and bit her lip to hold back a groan as she began to feel sick again.
"Yeah, of course we are. I'm so excited to see you!"
"I'm excited too, Tay. I'll see you in a few hours then?"
"Of course, baby. I love you. See you soon."
You repeated the words back to her before she hung up the phone and jumped out of bed, rushing back into the bathroom to throw up once more.
She knew she should've told you no. She should've been honest with you and told you that she was sick.
But with so much going on lately, your time together has been scarce and she knows how excited you are for tonight.
She is too, she's just struggling to show and express it with how terrible she feels.
She tried to convince herself that she'd feel better by then. She'd take a nap and she'd wake up with no fever, no achy stomach, and no need to throw up. She tried to tell herself that she'd be fine.
She flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and then returned to bed. Curling up with Benjamin, she closed her eyes and finally felt okay enough to get some sleep.
The hours passed by. When she woke up, it was after four and she went wide-eyed once again because she knew you were going to arrive any minute.
She got up but it was too quick and, much to her dismay, she realized that she still felt terrible.
She didn't feel nauseous, but her muscles and her stomach still hurt, she felt hot still, and when she stood up she had to sit right back down because she was feeling dizzy.
She closed her eyes and hoped that the room would stop spinning. She clutched the sheets in her fingertips and her knuckles turned white from the grip she had on it.
A moment later, she heard her phone go off, so she slowly opened her eyes and reached for her phone again.
It was a text from you, saying you were on your way.
You don't live far away, less than ten minutes, so she knew her time to get ready was slim.
She got up and pulled on some sweats before changing her shirt and brushing her teeth.
You wouldn't ask about her sweats because it's a date night in and you always tell her that you find it adorable when she wears them.
It meant that she was comfortable with you since she felt okay wearing sweats on your date night in.
Anyway, she didn't even have the strength to try and find anything else, so it would have to do either way.
She wiped her mouth with the towel and then threw it into the dirty clothes basket.
She fixed her messy blonde hair and realized how pale she looked.
She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool counter, hoping you wouldn't notice how drained of color her skin was and how she absolutely miserable she was feeling.
She went downstairs and you knocked on the door a moment later.
Your plan was to bring takeout from her favorite spot, so when she opened the door she was met with the aroma of the food and it turned her stomach a little.
She swallowed thickly and forced a smile. You walked inside and went to give her a kiss after putting the food down but she didn't want to risk you getting sick by kissing your lips, even though she so badly wanted to kiss you.
So, instead, she let you kiss her chin and you frowned over it.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine." She smiled. "Come on, let's eat. We'll turn on a movie."
You nodded and sat down as she grabbed the remote and began to flip through the channels after sitting down beside you.
She found something you both like and began to eat. Even though the smell alone was enough to turn her stomach, it wasn't that bad, nothing like how she felt earlier.
So she thought she'd be okay.
She ate a few bites, chewing and swallowing very slowly.
But soon, her stomach started to turn more intensely.
She didn't want to worry you so she put the food down and cleared her throat.
"Everything okay, baby?"
"Yeah. I'll be back." She said and got up, walking to the downstairs bathroom, hoping she could make it in time.
Her walk turned into a run as it became too intense and you worriedly got up and followed her down the hall.
You heard the sound of vomiting only a minute later and you rushed into the bathroom.
Your heart broke when you saw Taylor throwing up into the toilet.
She held her hair back with her shaky hand and you quickly walked to her side to gently pull it into your hand.
"It's okay, Tay. I'm here."
She continued to throw up for a few more minutes and it broke your heart. It felt like the time was just dragging on and you wondered if her stomach would ever settle.
But, thankfully, it finally did.
She flushed the toilet and got up to rinse out her mouth.
"Did I make you sick somehow? Was something not right with your food? Should I call and complain? Because I will, I swear."
She chuckled after she splashed some water over her face and then turned to you.
"No, it wasn't you, my love. I've been sick all day."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you." She sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault. Forget dinner and the movie. Let's get you to bed."
She felt terrible, feeling as though she'd let you down somehow.
But as you helped her to bed and curled up with, telling her that you were happy to be there and be able to take care of her, she felt better about it.
"Get some sleep." You said as you tucked her in and played with her hair.
"Okay." She spoke with a sleepy smile as she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep. "Stay with me tonight. Please?"
"Of course, babe. I won't leave your side, I promise. I love you and I hope you feel better soon. If you need anything, let me know."
"Okay. I love you too." She whispered as she fell asleep, so thankful that she's got you there to help cheer her up and make her feel a little bit better.